Elizabethan collars have been used for many years by veterinarians to keep animals from licking or biting wounds or sores. Many animals will bite their wounds, and this hinders the proper healing process. The Elizabethan collar is an opaque plastic cone having a frustro-conical shape, and it looks much like a lampshade. The small end of the collar is placed around the animal's neck, and the collar surrounds the sides of the animal's head. Although the Elizabethan collar is effective in preventing an animal from biting or licking wounds or scratching wounds on its head with its paws, it is very uncomfortable for the animal. It makes eating, sleeping, moving and seeing very difficult. Many animals feel threatened, depressed or disoriented while wearing the collar. Animals often bang into doors and walls because of the restricted view.
A modified type of Elizabethan collar is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,133,295 (Lippincott). It is made of two disks of non-resilient material that are secured about an animal's neck. The non-resilient material is thin and floppy and does not have the ability to return to its original position, and therefore does not present an effective barrier to keep an animal from turning its head to reach its body. The two disks are sewn together at their central aperture but otherwise move independently.
Another restraining collar is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,476,814 (Miller). The collar is made of a foam material such as polyurethane, polystyrene or foamed natural or synthetic rubber. The collar is toroidal in shape and is provided with a gap 22. The collar has a central neck-receiving space 16. The gap is wide enough so that the collar to be placed on the neck of an animal. The collar includes a drawstring extending through the body of the collar and is used to close the gap. The central neck-receiving hole 16 is not adjustable in size. Without being adjustable for size, the collar will most likely leave a space between the aperture and the neck. The collar will be able to slip up and down the neck, and it is possible that an animal can have a paw become entrapped between the collar and its neck.
It is an object of the invention to provide a restraint collar that prevents an animal from interfering with the healing process of its own wounds or sores.
It is another object of the invention to provide a restraint collar that is adjustable in size.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a restraint collar that is made of soft, resilient material.
It is still another object of the invention to provide a restraint collar that is easy to use for the animal's owner, and yet comfortable for the animal.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide a restraint collar that is inexpensive and easy to manufacture.
These and other objects of the invention will become clear to one of ordinary skill in the art after reviewing the disclosure of the invention that follows.